2014 ANNUAL REPORT 078BBC_A.indd 1 4/15/15 1:39 PM FROM THE PRESIDENT AND CHAIR It is our great pleasure to share this 2014 Annual Report with you – our members and supporters – whose outstanding support and passion made possible such amazing achievements over the past year. We have never been more enthusiastic about the work this organization does every day to accelerate the protection and restoration of the Bay. From landmark land preservation around unique Nasketucket Bay, to collaborative research with cranberry farmers, on-the-ground demonstrations of innovative nitrogen pollution reduction, persistent legal defense of oil spill prevention laws, and dramatic growth in community engagement programming, the Coalition’s work in 2014 found us reaching all corners of the Buzzards Bay watershed to improve the quality of our waters and our communities. Yet the programs and victories celebrated here in this Annual Report are but a glimpse of the exciting work taking place every day at your Buzzards Bay Coalition. We hope you share our pride in this work and the scale and impact of the Coalition’s accomplishments this year. This year also saw the completion of the Coalition’s “Strategy 2015-2020: Our Commitment to Restore Clean Water and a Healthy Buzzards Bay for Everyone.” Over the next five years, the plan will guide our actions to tackle head-on the challenges facing the Bay and our local environment through major new initiatives focused on People, Land and Water. The theme of “Resilience” binds together our new Strategic Plan’s natural, human and organizational goals. Resilience to adapt and endure, to grow and persevere, to restore the Bay and build an organization so that both can weather new threats and thrive for generations to come. That is our challenge, but more importantly, our tremendous opportunity. We are excited about the work ahead and about the privilege to partner with all of you to make it happen. Thank you! In closing, we want to pause to recognize the deep sadness we all feel at the loss of Chip Morse of Quissett this year. Chip served on the Coalition’s Board of Directors for 11 years and co-chaired our transformative $11.2 million Campaign for Buzzards Bay between 2008-2011. He was a dear friend and his impact on this organization and the Bay we protect will be felt for generations. Mark Rasmussen Laura Ryan Shachoy President/Buzzards Baykeeper Chair, Board of Directors On the cover: A local resident shows o the blue crab she caught on one of our Bay Adventures. 078BBC_A.indd 2 4/15/15 1:39 PM PROGRAM HIGHLIGHT: NASKETUCKET BAY Coalition completes largest land conservation project on Buzzards Bay in 25 years Imagine a warm, clear summer morning. You get on your bike, ride a few miles down a bike trail, and then hop off for a two mile-long hike. You meander along farmland, through lush forests, over streams, and across a salt marsh until you reach a beach that looks like it hasn’t seen visitors in years. In front of you is blue water full of fish and shellfish with birds soaring overhead. Now imagine that you, your friends and your family will be able to enjoy this place forever. You no longer have to imagine. In December, the Coalition completed the Nasketucket Bay Land Conservation Project, protecting 416 acres near Nasketucket Bay in Fairhaven and Mattapoisett. This is the largest land conservation project on Buzzards Bay in 25 years and it’s completion makes this vision a reality. This project also expanded The Coalition is creating a new Nasketucket Bay State conservation land around hiking trail that connects the Reservation is a crown jewel of Nasketucket Woods, including popular Phoenix/Mattapoisett the state park system. Because of a trail that links the Mariner bike path with the State this project, the reservation has Youth Soccer fields to new Reservation. nearly doubled in size. trails at East Fairhaven Elementary School. Nasketucket Bay has some of the cleanest water in Buzzards Bay. This is mainly because of significant local land conservation eorts. Now, one of the largest remaining natural areas surrounding Nasketucket Bay is permanently protected from development that might have harmed this special corner of the Bay. 2014 ANNUAL REPORT | 1 078BBC_A.indd 1 4/21/15 12:04 PM 2014 ANNUAL REPORT 2 | BUZZARDS BAY COALITION 078BBC_A.indd 2 4/15/15 1:39 PM BAYKEEPER® ADVOCACY Whether you’re paddling the calm waters of the Westport Rivers, sailing out of West Falmouth Harbor, or fishing in the coves of Wareham, the effects of nitrogen pollution are all around us. To address this, 2014 was a year of significant action towards tackling the Bay’s biggest pollution problem. Across the region, a combination of planning, research, and innovative projects crafted a new path forward to restoring clean water in your community. On Cape Cod, residents and stakeholders from all In Carver, Plymouth, and Wareham, the Coalition Cape communities participated in an intensive, continued its work with the UMass Cranberry Station year-long effort to create a clean water action plan and the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole – a long-overdue requirement of section 208 of the to better understand the impact of cranberry bogs Federal Clean Water Act. In October, the Cape Cod on nutrients in Buzzards Bay. At the same time, our Commission released a draft plan that’s designed to Baywatchers program – which completed its 23rd give communities the tools needed to reduce nitrogen year of monitoring in 2014 – is expanding thanks to a pollution. The Coalition, which pushed in court for grant from the MacArthur Foundation. In partnership the plan’s completion, participated in the planning with the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, the process and provided detailed comments on the draft. Coalition will lengthen our monitoring season, collect The final plan is due in spring 2015. more data, and better assess how global warming is exacerbating the Bay’s existing nitrogen problem. Stopping nitrogen pollution will require many different solutions. The Coalition and local municipalities are The Coalition is also continuing to fight to keep the testing innovative approaches under a new grant Bay safe from oil spills. More than a decade after program from the U.S. Environmental Protection the devastating effects of the Bouchard B-120 spill, Agency. Through projects at Kingman Marina in the U.S. Coast Guard and the oil transport industry Cataumet and on West Falmouth Harbor, the Coalition are hoping our memories of that event are fading. is targeting the biggest source of nitrogen pollution to In 2014 they unsuccessfully pushed to weaken the the Bay: residential septic systems. These projects will Massachusetts Oil Spill Prevention Act, which has help residents in these areas tie into advanced nitrogen- protected the Bay from a major spill for years. The reducing systems that will significantly reduce pollution Coalition and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to local harbors. In addition, Fairhaven and Wareham are continuing to fight in court to defend the Bay. received grants aimed at reducing nitrogen from their In addition, the Coalition has partnered with the wastewater treatment plants. New Bedford Harbor Development Commission, local public safety agencies, the U.S. Coast Guard, and commercial fishermen to secure funds for a pilot project to reduce the chronic “mystery” oil spill problem in New Bedford Harbor. The Coalition is bringing together scientists and cranberry growers to better understand the impact of cranberry agriculture on nitrogen An innovative partnership between the in Buzzards Bay. Coalition and the town of Falmouth will install 20 nitrogen-reducing septic systems at homes around West Falmouth Harbor. At left, a Baywatcher collects important water Buzzards Bay Coalition quality data in New Bedford Harbor, one of is a member of the over 200 locations around Buzzards Bay. Waterkeeper Alliance. 2014 ANNUAL REPORT | 3 078BBC_A.indd 3 4/22/15 11:55 AM 2014 ANNUAL REPORT 4 | BUZZARDS BAY COALITION 078BBC_A.indd 4 4/15/15 1:39 PM WATERSHED PROTECTION In New Bedford’s busy North End, the sound of traffic fades away as you stroll up to a stone wall. Just beyond, the Acushnet River flows past sloping meadows and quiet forests. Leaving the hectic city behind, you make your way along winding paths that cross over the river and through the woods. Within just a few minutes, you’re standing on the river’s shore watching ospreys soar overhead, herons fish in the marsh, and fish jump from the water. After a multi-year restoration effort, you will soon The Coalition’s efforts to restore the lower Weweantic be able to enjoy this journey yourself at the restored River took a major step forward with a grant from the Acushnet Sawmill. The Coalition removed old Bouchard B-120 Trustee Council. The restoration will pavement, recreated natural riverbanks, and replanted remove run-down remnants of an old mill at the mouth dozens of species of native plants and trees. And with of the Weweantic, allowing migratory fish, as well as new walking paths, scenic overlooks, interpretive signs, kayakers and fishermen, better access up and down and a canoe and kayak launch, visitors like you will soon Buzzards Bay’s largest river. be able to explore and enjoy this new park in the heart When measured by acres, 2014 marked one of the most of the city. productive years for land conservation in Coalition history. The cornerstone of those efforts was the Nasketucket Land Conservation Project, a collection of 416 acres of conserved lands in Fairhaven and Mattapoisett (see program highlight on page 1). Across the Bay, we also helped protect seven acres of pristine beach and dune habitat at Black Beach in West Falmouth (see photo at left).